Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after two days of waiting to get meetings with President Biden, former President Trump, or even Vice President Kamala Harris, played hardball today in his address to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. He declared that nothing less than “total victory” over Hamas was required and that opposition in America to his war against Gaza was from “useful idiots.” Those who criticize Netanyahu’s actions are supporters of Hamas. “Incredibly, many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers.… For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.… When we stand together something really simple happens: We win, they lose.” His speech played to the hardcore believers in “Eretz Yisrael” (Greater Israel).
He declared: “Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home. That’s what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less.” He omitted any mention of Washington’s reported attempts to mediate a ceasefire and hostage-release.
The families of American hostages being held in Gaza issued a joint statement, saying that they were “profoundly disappointed” by Netanyahu’s speech, as he “failed to commit to the hostage deal that is now on the table even though Israel’s senior defense and intelligence officials have called on him to do so.”
Over 60 Democratic legislators boycotted the speech and, of some note, so did Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). He cited the more pressing need to campaign. One Democrat who attended was Palestinian American Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who sat and held up a small black-and-white sign at Netanyahu that read: “War criminal” and “Guilty of genocide.”
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) refused to attend, stating: “The Hamas attack on October 7 was unprovoked and cowardly, and its continued holding of hostages unconscionable. However, Israel’s execution of its war in Gaza under the direction of Prime Minister Netanyahu with 39,000 Palestinians dead and 90,000 injured is a brutal strategy beyond any acceptable level of self-defense. ... I will stand by Israel, but I will not stand and cheer its current Prime Minister at tomorrow’s Joint Session.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) posted on X: “The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war. I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending.”
